Mom's promise

I sat at the kitchen table, my face drenched in my own tears. I have just received a phone call from my sister Meghan from Oregon. " Kyle, I tried to call earlier but no one answered." I could tell there was something wrong by the tone of her voice. "What happened?" I asked. "Dad came over this morning in tears. Mom has passed away." She cried. I dropped the receiver and fell to the floor. My stomach tightened to the point where I felt intense pain. My mother and I were very close. That night broke me more than anything.

My mother and I were always close. We did everything together. It's like we were best friends. One day, when I was the age of six, we were in the barn at the farm where I grew up. It was late at night. I didn't have school the next day so I went to the barn with my mother. We usually would go in the middle of the night if one of the horses were giving birth but this time she brought me there to show me something. When we got to the barn I caught sight of a beautiful white born owl sitting on the sheep's stall. My mother followed my gaze and said " It's a barn owl. When I pass away I promise if you ever feel alone I will appear in the form of the same bird you are seeing now. Then you will know you are not alone."

I was getting ready for my mother funeral. I took a shower, dressed, grabbed my keys and headed out the door. My wife, Scarlett, decided to get some flowers on the way for her grave since we slept in so late. I was so depressed I could barely get up. I got to the funeral about ten minutes earlier than everyone else. The viewing was the night before. When we went inside Dad, Chris, and Meghan were there along with other friends and family. Dad turned and gave me a small smile. Although he smiled I could still see the heartbreak in his eyes. Chris and Meghan could barely look at me. "Hi son." said dad. " Hi." I replied. M eyes were filled with tears as we hugged. As soon as the funeral was over we went to breakfast and then I headed over to my mother's house to help Meghan pack mom's belongings.

We were in the middle of packing everything when I caught glimpse of my mother's garden outside in the yard. The rose bushes were dead because of the winter but I could still smell the scent of the roses that mother had grown and would tend to each year. I walked outside and stood beside the rose bush. I began to cry. I felt hopeless and had wondered why God had taken away my only mother. The one person with whom I was closest to was gone. I missed her so much. I started to feel like I had lost everything and felt so alone.

All of a sudden I heard a screech. The sound was almost deafening. I looed to see if I find where the sound came from but didn't see anything. I walked to the door to go back inside but spun around when I heard the sound again. It was closer this time. Each time I would walk closer to the door to go inside the screeching would start again. I started to notice the sound was coming from above me. I looked up and saw a very beautiful snowy white barn owl sitting above me. The owl was the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. I looked into it's heart shaped face and started to remember my mother's promise to me when I was six.

"When you feel alone I will appear in the same form as the bird you are seeing." I knew that was my sign. Mom was near me. She had kept her promise as she kept all her other promises.